I have fallen in love with a city.

Hello readers.  It has been almost 2 weeks since I posted last and that is because I have been prrrrrrretty busy.  I am sure y'all are real upset about that...anyway...last week in NOLA.

The last week in New Orleans was pretty crazy.  Monday we went to a home to muck and gut it and when we got there it was literally a poopy mess.  There was legitimate poop on the ground.  It was the worst home we have been in so far.  We had to wear the tyvek suits again to sweat all day.  Well for me and David, we didn't have to sweat all day.  He left his chargers for his electronics everything at the distribution center so I got nominated to drive him to get his things.  This conveniently came at the right time since we ran into our first HUGE snake in the garage.  It was probably tiny, but in my afraid of snakes mind, it was massive.  David and I got more than lost and it took all day to retrieve his things.  We ended up taking a ferry to get from one side of the Parish to the other.  Really weird.  But all in all the day was full of driving.  Kind of the theme of the week..

Tuesday was the best day I had in New Orleans by far.  Sam, Rachel, Margaret and I decided to take a personal day/life after AmeriCorps day.  We decided the week before that there will never be a time where the 4 of us are together in a fun city again.  We took full advantage of that and took the day to relax and go downtown and shop/hang out.  The day started with beignets, per usual.  Again, they were delicious.  We then walked around and did some shopping/found a place with cheap beer.  After the one beer we found the world's best nachos and margaritas.  Kind of the perfect combination.  Once we finished that mess of food, we ventured to Frenchman Street to the French Market.  Then we went to Magazine Street to go to the Defend New Orleans store.  Really cool t-shirt store where I made my first and only purchase.  I wear the shirt loud and proud.  Apparently it is Taco Tuesday at a local place on Magazine, so the 4 of us plus Sam's friends who live in NOLA came to eat with us.  Such good tacos.  Honestly, this day was what I needed to really bring to light that I definitely love the city.  I am actually in love with it.  Maybe I will be heading down there sooner than I think.

Wednesday we woke up to a wonderful surprise; 5 slashed tires!  How nice of someone!  Not only did our team's van need to be in the shop for almost a week because of hitting a ladder on the highway, but now our truck had a flat.  The other 2 teams vans had their tires slashed, our truck, and a truck of the non-profit that ran the housing we stayed at.  Due to the tires needing to be fixed immediately, Sam and I had to stay back and drive cars around.  So, much like Monday, I drove the entire day Wednesday.  Here, an hour there, back to the work site, back to the housing, back to work, it was a lot.  But what can you do.  Just some sick people in the world.  Anyway, I got to watch Modern Family and The Middle premiers that night, which was a laugh that was needed big time.  That night I actually finished book #3 on the year!  I am really proud of myself for what may seem like a little accomplishment, but if you know me, you know how hard it has been for me to read.  Thanks to Kara for the great book!  Looking for #4 for the fourth spike, any suggestions are welcome.

Thursday was our last day of work.  We finished the home the team had been working on all week.  I am glad we finished it and got to help this family with one of three homes they own.  Thursday afternoon was spent packing until we had a service learning 3 hours with our sponsor, Jim.  He lives in New Orleans and was here when Katrina hit.  He took us around to the places in NOLA where Katrina hit the hardest.  We saw the levees that broke and saw where they were rebuilt.  It was amazing to see some parts of the city still not fixed from the hurricane.   It was a real eye opener for me.  Our team got to see the homes that Brad Pitt helped build.  Kind of cool homes.  It just made me really want to move to this awesome city.  Hearing stories from a NOLA native really made me realize that the sense of community in this city is unlike any other city I have ever seen.  It is amazing what people have gone through together.  I love the sense of pride in homes and sense of pride in the entire city itself.  I just have fallen in love New Orleans.

Friday was our travel day back to Vicksburg.  Best part about it was, we used our travel money on PANERA.  It has been since February that I have had a bacon turkey bravo.  I was so happy.  Since we got back to campus last Friday, my life has been stressful and a whirlwind of a week.  Everything worked out positively for me, but I am taking full advantage of the weekend I am having currently.  Yesterday I did an ISP with some people staying on campus for break.  We got to go to "Happy Day" at the intermediate elementary school in town.  This school is pre-K-3 and has 720 students.  Each student is given a certain number of tokens to earn so they can enjoy a day outside doing fun events.  It helps them practice positive behavior.  It was a really cool concept.  I got to play with these kids all day and sing and dance to Justin Bieber and One Direction with them.  It was the best day I have had in a long time.

This week helped me realize that I joined the program for the right reasons and I am so lucky to have met the group of friends that I have here.  I honestly have some people in my life here that will be in my life forever.  I am on a team that was a team to begin the 10 months together and now we are a family.  It is amazing how well we get along and how much we all love each other.  My group of friends are the most supportive people of each other that I have ever met.  We are all here for the same reasons and I would probably not complete the program without them. 

Today is day 2 of fall break in Vicksburg.  I am going to get a lot of job research done before Thursday when Sam, Tiffany and I get into a car and drive 7 hours to Nashville to meet Rachel for our little AmeriCorps vacation! I can't wait.  Jill is flying down for the whole long weekend vacation and MaryKathryn decided spur of the moment to come join.  I need that little taste of home for a few days and I couldn't be happier to introduce them to my friends from AmeriCorps.  The south better get ready for the Conceison sisters taking over! 

A lot of positives to look forward to for me, round 4 in Virginia with my family River 10, and my BIRTHDAY NEXT FRIDAY in a city I've always wanted to visit, and a new beginning at home in December!  I need this kind of excitement in my life right now!

That's it for now, I hope everyone is doing well in the fall weather I miss so much.  It will be weird not celebrating my birthday at home, but I am sure MK will fill that void for me.  Can't wait to see everyone in 2 short months! 

I am going to strategically place my address here... :)
Christine Conceison
AmeriCorps NCCC
2715 Confederate Ave.
Vicksburg, MS 39180